Your guide to choosing the best Health Insurance Plan for a woman

Date :
15/08/2018

Read: 4 mins

Buying a health insurance policy is always a matter to consider carefully, and it’s essential you do your research to find a policy that is customized to your needs.

Much like their male counterparts, Indian women, especially those who are working, are at high risk of contracting major diseases due to their sedentary lifestyles. This can be overwhelming to think about, but it’s absolutely essential that you put in place proper safeguards to mitigate the impact of such situations, if and when they arise.

Your spouse and children depend on your income, if you are employed, and if you are a homemaker, they depend on your expert management of the household, without which they would need to shell out a lot of money to have it managed. Thus, it’s essential you plan for financial assistance in case of an unfortunate event.

Let us take a look at some of most prominent diseases that impact an Indian woman’s health and

subsequently delve into policies that offer cover for these illnesses.

Cardiovascular diseases are taking a severe toll on women's health. A survey, “Visualizing the Extent of Heart Disease in Indian Women”, initiated by Heal foundation, revealed that there has been a 16% to 20% rise in cases of heart diseases among women in the period ranging from 2009-2013.

Similarly, there has been a rise in the incidence of cancer in the recent years and breast cancer in particular is a sore subject with disturbing growth figures in both rural as well as urban areas.

Stroke, another major health concern, is spreading in epidemic proportions in India. Every 200 women out of 1 lakh suffer from stroke. The risk of a stroke increases as one ages. However, women as young as 18, have also been affected.

It has been noted that women have a greater chance to fall a prey to critical ailments such as arthritis, irregular BP, diabetes and so forth.

Of course, pregnancy related disorders, complications reserved for women, can cause physical, emotional and financial stress. Additionally, the chances of a stroke increases during pregnancy and can lead to dire consequences.

Picking out the right policy to protect yourself or your loved one can be a tricky job. Here are some pointers that can help you pick the most apt policy:

Critical Illness Cover: You should ideally go for a policy that covers multiple critical illnesses including cancer, heart attack, stroke and kidney failure, especially you have a family history of their occurece. This allows you to enjoy 360-degree protection with a single policy so you can avoid the hassle of investing in separate policies for each illness with disease-specific insurance plans. Narrow down your choices to policies which pay you a lump sum benefit upon diagnosis of the covered diseases irrespective of whether you are hospitalized or not.

Daily Hospital Cash Benefit: Another thing to check for in a health policy is that if it reimburses you for the miscellaneous expenses incurred during the hospital stay such as money spent on food and refreshments, commuting etc. Though hardly noticed, such expenses can form a major chunk of your overall cost of treatment and drains you of valuable financial resources. Choose a policy that takes care of these expenses by providing daily hospital cash benefit which amounts to a certain percentage of your sum assured.

Recovery Benefits: You should also take into account the expenses incurred as a part of prolonged stay in the hospital for the purpose of recovery. Also known as ‘convalescence benefits’, these benefits are offered after a certain number of days of hospitalization have been completed, usually 5. An example of this benefit would be the cost associated with the loss of income during your hospital stay.

Buying a health insurance policy is always a matter to consider carefully, and it’s essential you do your research to find a policy that has all the above features and more, so you are comprehensively protected.